WSM 18.5
Weber Kettle
Weber Genesis Silver C
I guess it's a Weber backyard wonderland....
Maverick ET 732
ThermoWorks RT600C
Kingsford (blue bag, competition if it's on a good sale!)
Wine maker (lots of varieties)- goes good with meat!
Need some assistance. My last several rib cooks; taste, flavor, tenderness, all turned out great. Nice smokey flavor as well. But, I haven't been able to get a smoke ring.
Using a 18.5" Weber Smokey Mountain with three decent sized chunks of apple wood. St. Louis cut, membrane pulled, rub added about 30 min before I put them on.
In my limited experience I seem to get a better smoke ring when the meat is cold when placed in the smoker. I also dry brine everything, most meats at least overnight but ribs a few hours before cooking. I know that Dr. Blonder has written that humidity also plays a large part.
I agree with Donw that the meat should be cold when you put it on the smoker. You should also have some sort of water pan inside the smoker to help maintain humidity. Both should help with achieving a good smoke ring.
Cold meat. I can't emphasize this enough. Also, lower temps. Smoke ring is essentially a chemical reaction between the meat and the gasses from the charcoal/wood. Once the outer edge of the meat hits a certain temp smoke ring development stops.
Keep this in mind - smoke ring has zero effect on flavor and BBQ competition judges are instructed not to take it into account when evaluating meat.
WSM 18.5
Weber Kettle
Weber Genesis Silver C
I guess it's a Weber backyard wonderland....
Maverick ET 732
ThermoWorks RT600C
Kingsford (blue bag, competition if it's on a good sale!)
Wine maker (lots of varieties)- goes good with meat!
Thanks all. Meat is cold when putting it on, always have water in the pan (plus I live in FL, humidity not a problem. lol). True about the ring not doing anything for flavor, just looks cool. I'll tweak it a bit with the dry brine and see if that's what I'm missing. I've done it before....
pizza67 if you really want to try to "put a ring on it" (ouch..) try chunks of cherry as your smoking wood. I find pork meats in particular tend to get a more pronounced ring from cherry. Plus it tastes good!
+1 on GolfGeezer and +1 on Ahumadora
I’m in Florida too, and these suggestions work. Give them a try and you will be rewarded with a smoke ring. Not sure it adds any taste, but it’s nice to have your finished products sporting it.
My gear:
22 Weber Kettle
Napoleon PRO Charcoal Kettle Grill
Broil King Keg
Traeger Pro 34
Napoleon Prestige Pro 500
Pit Barrel Cooker
Blackstone Range Combo Griddle
Thanks you pkadare , someone finally got it right. Forget about the cold meat, the water pan and the tribal dance around a full moon. SMOKE RING DON'T MEAN CRAP. In golf terminology it would be the equivalent of driving for show, worry more about putting for dough and cook those ribs, regardless of the smoke ring, properly.
WSM 18.5
Weber Kettle
Weber Genesis Silver C
I guess it's a Weber backyard wonderland....
Maverick ET 732
ThermoWorks RT600C
Kingsford (blue bag, competition if it's on a good sale!)
Wine maker (lots of varieties)- goes good with meat!
My toys:
Weber Summit Charcoal Grilling Center (WSCGC) aka Mr. Fancypants
Pit Barrel Cooker (which rocks), named Pretty Baby
Weber Summit S650 Gas Grill, named Hot 'n Fast (used mostly for searing and griddling)
Weber Kettle Premium 22" named Kettle Kid, eager to horn in with more cooks in the future
Camp Chef Somerset IV 4-burner outdoor gas range named AfterBurner due to its 30kBTU burners
Adrenaline BBQ Company Gear:
SnS Low Profile, DnG, and Large Charcoal Basket, for WSCGC
SnS Deluxe for 22" Kettle
Elevated SS Rack for WSCGC
SS Rack for DnG
Cast Iron Griddle
Grill Grate for SnS
Grill Grates: five 17.375 sections (retired to storage)
Grill Grates: six 19.25 panels for exact fit for Summit S650
gasser
Grill Grates for 22" Kettle
2 Grill Grate Griddles
Steelmade Griddle for Summit gas grill
Fireboard Gear:
Extreme BBQ Thermometer Package
Additional control unit
Additional probes: Competition Probes 1" (3) and 4" (1), 3 additional Ambient Probes. 1 additional Food Probe
2 Driver Cables
Pit Viper Fan (to pair with Fireboard Fan Driver Cable)
Pit Viper Fan new design (to pair with Fireboard Fan Driver Cable)
Thermoworks Gear:
Thermapen MK4 (pink)
Thermapen Classic (pink too)
Thermoworks MK4 orange
Temp Test 2 Smart Thermometer
Extra Big and Loud Timer
Timestick Trio
Maverick ET 73 a little workhorse with limited range
Maverick ET 733
Maverick (Ivation) ET 732
Grill Pinz
Vortex (two of them)
18" drip pan for WSCGC
Ceramic Spacers for WSCGC in Kamado Mode: 2 sets each 1/2", 1", 2". The 2" spacers work best with the 18" drip pan. The 1+1/2 inch spacers work best with the 14 inch cake pan.
Two Joule Sous Vide devices
3 Lipavi Sous Vide Tubs with Lids: 12, 18 and 26 quarts
Avid Armor Ultra Pro V32 Chamber Sealer
Instant Pot 6 Quart Electric Pressure Cooker
Instant Pot 10 Quart Electric Pressure Cooker
Charcoal Companion TurboQue
A-Maze-N tube 12 inch tube smoker accessory for use with pellets
BBQ Dragon and Dragon Chimney
Shun Classic Series:
8" Chef Knife
6" Chef's Knife
Gokujo Boning and Fillet Knife
3 1/2 inch Paring Knife
When I first got my WSCGC I couldn't get a smoke ring on the first couple of cooks. Then I added more wood for the next cook, and badda-bing! Pretty smoke ring!
I think most of us understand that the smoke ring has no effect on flavor. But we eat first with our eyes, and appearance absolutely does matter. Otherwise, there wouldn't be a SUWYC thread.
Having said all of that, I'm baffled as to why the smoke ring is not there. It's something that just happens, in my experience.
Celery seed contains nitrate. I use my bacon cure to dry brine.. I have had people tell me I can't get a smoke ring in an electric smoker.. I then explain that I can get a smoke ring in an electric oven with no smoke..
Backroadmeats, care to share your bacon dry brine? I used the basic one on the free side for my first batch; I really would like to try yours. I promise not to tell anyone lol
Steve R. has made an excellent point here.
We do eat with our eyes first, and the smoke ring is just part of the overall experience.
Agreed that it may not add anything as far as taste is concerned, but it does matter. If I had to judge 2 pieces of BBQ fixings, I would start evaluating appearance and presentation. The one without a smoke ring may win in the end after all is said, tasted and done... but it’s not getting my initial point’s for presentation, particularly if one of them has a nice smoke ring.
Try using cherrywood right of the bat. It works for me. The initial hour or so of your smoke with cherry and see how that goes. Small chunks should do it. Another tip is placing your cuts cold from the fridge.
Last edited by Ricardo; July 8, 2020, 03:45 PM.
Reason: Fixing some typos and adding some text
I'm a BBQ judge. Smoke ring is not a contributing factor for scoring. Your picture of the brisket would raise a "wow - that was a deep smoke ring" by the judges after scoring was completed and score cards turned in, but that would be it.
This is a brisket point that we prepared last weekend with just a few cherrywood chunks and southern live oak for btu. It’s for a brisket chili, so it wasn’t prepared for serving as you see in the photo, but for mincing and incorporating at a later time into a chili. In any case, take a look at this crazy smoke ring.
Cheers,
Ricardo
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